Port Macquarie

It’s only about 150kms drive but I decide to take the scenic route again with a detour to Southwest Rocks. The view from the lighthouse is known as Captain Cook lookout and it is spectacular both northwards all the way back towards Coffs Harbour and along the rugged coastline southwards too. We pop into the Trial Bay gaol from where convicts escaped in 1816 on a boat that, with cruel irony, promptly sank drowning all on board. Prisoners fared better here in WWI when the gaol was renowned for fair treatment and comparatively excellent food including fresh fish and vegetables caught/grown by the less troublesome inmates. We then meander our way down the Macleay river valley past houses on stilts to Kempsey. The town is famous for being the home of the Akubra hat but sadly not for its lunches….

By the time we reach Port Macquarie it’s raining heavily and we check in to our budget 1 room 3 star motel. You may think 3 star is not too bad but it’s the lowest rating there is hence the shoebox size and musty sheets. We brave the elements for an equally musty pizza and head back to our padded cell despondently – still what do you expect for 80$ including breakfast. Maybe it’s just the weather but there doesn’t seem to be a huge amount to do in this town. In desperation we check out the oldest seaworthy wooden-masted schooner the ‘Alma Doepel’ constructed in 1903. We also have a look at the breakwall where each rock is covered in graffiti from the last 20 years. Mostly pretty crap efforts but the overall effect is impressive. Suitably charged with a triple shot latte from the local Starbucks I decide to follow the 4WD’s down the gravel tracks of Diamond Head on an interesting ‘shortcut’. Although 30kms instead of 50kms the journey back to the main road is a full hour of pot-holed misery for the three passengers whilst I have great fun swerving from one side of the road to the other trying to avoid the worst of the chasms with dodgy brakes and an iffy suspension. We eventually make it to Newcastle battered and bruised - including my ego as we have been overtaken several times by nonchalant drivers cruising at 60 kms/hr whist I struggle to get past 30.